Breastfeeding class divide?

[Yorkshirelassreturns]

No doubt this will be a controversial topic since in relates to our outdated but entrenched 'class system' but does anyone else think that breastfeeding has become more 'middle / upper class' with more 'working class' mums choosing to ff? Am curious as I was talking to my grandma today and she thinks it has but finds it funny as in her day, ff was the prestigious (for want of a better word) method of feeding and since ff is expensive, you would think that it would be the other way round. Just curious to hear people's views...

[ColdCottage]

I don't think it's a class issue, more of an educational issue.
If people know more about their options and the benefits they can then decide what is best for them. Though as we all know even if you want to BF it doesn't always work out for any number of reasons.
I'd never judge anyone for what ever method they chose/worked for them.

[FreckledLeopard]

I think, though, that class is inextricably linked to education, so that people from poorer socio-economic groups have poorer educational opportunities and attainment. Which is linked to lower rates of breastfeeding.

[enderwoman]

I agree. I think that "richer" people can afford for their husbands to take longer paternity leave and are more likely to contact a breast feeding counsellor/get online help when there are problems.

[KikiShack]

I think it's a lot more complex than that,but essentially I thinkyou have a point- generally bf is a more middle class thing. God knows what the upper classes do, probably wet nurses?!
OF COURSE there are bucket loads of exceptions, before anyone jumps up about how they're working class and they bf, their snobby snooty SIL formula feeds, xxx person can't bf and how dare MN therefore dictate or assume their class.
But from my personal experience bf seems a lot more prevalent in the middle class. I think this is what the stats seem to show too, but I don't know if any links to back this up.

[Yorkshirelassreturns]

Just to be clear, I am not judging anyone- I haven't said what I do or what class I would be in (if I believed in such things). We all make the best decisions that we can for us and our little ones based on our own circumstances. I am genuinely just curious. I agree that it may be more closely linked to education and family support though.

[MissHC]

This article seems to agree.

From my own experience I do find that it are more higher educated women who breastfeed.

[Kirsty0612]

Honestly think breast feeding is/ has became more middle class. Obviously million exceptions. In my work it's the norm to breast feed but when I've been to ante natal classes vast majority aren't considering it.

[VeloWoman]

I agree that MC women do seem more likely to breastfeed. Although often women from immigrant communities have very high BF rates despite often being relatively poor. So perhaps some it is cultural/what you see people in your community doing.

[nugget05]

I'm classed as being working class, didn't go on to higher education but I bf. And no before Kiki or anyone else says I'm declaring it unfair to say working class women don't bf etc I agree, almost everyone I know ff including my sisters for various reasons, 1 is pregnant and as soon as she found out she told us she would be ff for no reason other than it looks like too much hassle maybe I'm lucky that I know the benefits (through common sense).
I think that it should be part of sex education in secondary school so that young girls can fully understand the benefits rather than just see that everyone else ff so they will too.

[onestepbeyond]

I think I do agree that it seems to have become more middle class. Also very refreshing to read a bf debate that hasn't descended into a bun fight!!

[Andcake]

Very middle class and education has a lot to do with it. I remember hearing something that younger mums tend not to bf either. Obviously there are always exceptions. I think it is a confidence thing as well and social norm sin your area.
I live in a very middle class area and everyone bf and ff are given dirty looks in public or gossiped about.

I think this is often where some of the bf bun fights start as peoples experiences of bf in public really depend on the norm in their area which is often based on the demographics.
Yes - Bf should be talked about in sex education - but also that it can be hard but is worth the effort. maybe like morning sickness just a part of having a baby.
i speak as someone who had a v difficult bf situation and overheard people being mean about me feeding form a bottle (although it was expressed milk) -'look she has a bottle I could never do THAT to my baby' and then have to hear all the hard done by BF stories. I expressed a lot and it was a real hassle.

[minipie]

So perhaps some it is cultural/what you see people in your community doing.

Yes, I think this is the main factor. People tend to do what they see their friends and neighbours and wider family doing. So MC women BF more, not so much because they are MC, but because they see their (also MC) friends and neighbours BFing.

This is why I think public BFing is so important. The more people who BF in public, the more it will seem "normal" in that area and will encourage others to give BF a try. (Although more NHS help in the early days would be rather useful too).

[Writerwannabe83]

I work with breast feeding mothers and definitely see a divide. The older mothers (say those aged 25+) and those who have professional jobs or live in more affluent areas are in my experience more likely to BF.

[StoneTheFlamingCrows]

Yes there is a class divide but I think this is a fairly modern thing. When I was growing up in a working class family in the 80s all my aunts etc bf as they couldn't afford to ff.

[StoneTheFlamingCrows]

In the same way that most people I knew still used terry towelling nappies.

[callamia]

I wonder if it's also about work and leave? I've been able to take six months of decently paid leave, so have had ample time to establish breastfeeding. Some mothers need to be back at work much sooner, and don't have the opportunity to do this.

I think knowing other people is key. My closest friends with children breastfed, and so I didn't really question it (until I started... hard work isn't it?). It was useful and encouraging to be able to refer to them though.

[StoneTheFlamingCrows]

I think peer pressure plays a big part too.

I am ashamed to admit this, but I was encouraged to go to a mother and baby group by my midwife. It was in a children's centre on a council estate so I expected there would be lots of young/low income mums there. I was already feeling self conscious about bfing so I took a bottle of ebm with me. When I got there all the mums were older, mc, bfing, cloth nappies etc. So I whipped my tit out as I actually felt more self-conscious about getting a bottle out! I also started to feel embarrassed that dd was wearing a disposable!

I know all my prejudging there was completely wrong, but thought I'd be honest.

[Xcountry]

No, I BF all mine because its free, everyone I know breastfed because it is also free and no one could describe any of us as middle or upper class (she says sitting on a hay bale with the 90th brew of the day waiting for this mornings shitty overalls to dry) and I had my first at 17 to my highschool boyfriend (who is now DH for all you about to hoick up those judgypants)

[MirandaGoshawk]

MIL told me that she FF because "in her day" (1960s) - "naice girls didn't BF".

So originally (Victorian times & earlier?) if you were posh you got in a wetnurse because BF was seen as a bit low class/inconvenient/dirty even.

I suppose that when formula was invented it meant that women didn't have to BF (see above) and it's only relatively recently that BF has been promoted to all classes as healthy & desirable for mother & baby.

[pinkgirlythoughts]

I think there is a divide, perhaps more along the lines of education rather than class (although the two are obviously often linked). I grew up on the edge of a council estate, your stereotypical 'working class' people, but I've since gone on to university, and now work in a career that requires a degree, so I tend to mix with very different people to the ones I grew up with. People I know from back home who left school after GCSEs all ff, don't consider bfing at all, even as something to have a try at- they talk about buying baby 'essentials' such as nappies and formula milk, in preparation for birth. People I work with now discuss their early days breastfeeding experiences, and what age they moved to formula feeding, if at all. (I'm pregnant again at the mo, we don't just sit around discussing baby feeding usually!) Obviously there are always exceptions, but that's certainly been my experience.

[pinkgirlythoughts]

oh, but definitely agree with what others have said about the cultural aspect of it- if you grow up in a community where everyone you know with a baby feeds them formula, then obviously you'll see that as the 'normal' way of doing things. Likewise if you grow up somewhere where it's common to see breastfeeding, you'll view that as the 'norm' instead.

[squizita]

I work in a middle class job, have a middle class type education, live in a middle class area and married a lawyer. However many of my 'markers' (dress, accent) are not the stereotype of the Boden/White-Company loving middle class yummy mummy.

I have definitely noticed a 'culture' where some mummy friends almost expect me not to be able to because it's almost like to them, BFing is part of a lifestyle and "way of being a parent". E.g. babies who have re-usable nappies, are called Ancient Greek names, co-sleep, have a bugaboo... they breastfeed from their SAHM in a modest linen dress. Babies with trendy/Good-Ole-Cat'lic names, in own brand nappies, in a moses basket, with an own-brand buggy and a mum wearing a River Island short skirt - SMA all the way.
It was fascinatingly clear even at some classes ... a kind of silent 'culture'.

Interestingly my mum (hailing from classy Croyden ) BFed no problem so in actual fact i'm not that bothered. But I can see how it could put some women off and intimidate them.

I'm more bothered someone thought my choice of buggy was "super chavvy" the bloody cheek!!! Twas just a liiiiittttle biiiittt pink and leopard print!

[MiniTheMinx]

Nine years ago, according to my then midwife it was a class issue.

[tiktok]

Stats are clear. The older you are, the later you left full time education, the more middle class you are, the more likely you are to start bf.

This is not inevitable and predictable though.

Variations appear according to your ethnic group, and whether your friends and family bf, and indeed where you live.

A 30 year old married or co habiting graduate in a professional job is more likely than a 16 year old single mother with zero gcses to bf.

Yet there are plenty of individuals of both types who challenge that and do the opposite of what they are more likely to do.

And If the 30 year old lives in London she is more likely to bf than if she lives in Northern Ireland. Even if all her other demographic factors are identical.

Virtually all mothers of Chinese ethnicity bf, no matter what age and class etc.

When I say bf, I mean start to bf.

There is a drop off among all groups.

[StillWishihadabs]

I think the middle class do bf more than the upper or working class. However most mums give it a go (?80% I think) and only 5 % are solely bing at 6 months......so it's more of difference in degree than an absolute difference. What I have noticed is working class dads are more hands on and upper class gels are v likely to have a maternity nurse (or sometimes a doula) for the first 6 weeks. If you've got to make up all the formula, feed the baby and sterilise that bottles yourself ( as most mc mums do after the 1st 2 weeks) well then you might as well bf.